Dwayne Johnson Admits He's Late to Sets, Pees in Bottles — But Reports Are “Ridiculous”

Earlier in the year, The Wrap reported that the on-set delays on “Red One,” not to mention the budget ballooning to catastrophic levels, had to do with its star Dwayne Johnson frequently being late to the set (“7-8 hours on average”) and that he would sometimes just not show up at all — his behavior cost production well over $50M.

Said one insider: “The only thing Dwayne was consistent at was being chronically late.” The report went on to make the claim that Johnson was also prone to peeing in water bottles during the shoot, to refrain from going to the bathroom, and asking crew to get rid of it.

In a GQ interview, Johnson is now calling The Wrap’s report “crazy” and “ridiculous,” but not without the actor actually confirming that he shows up late to sets and does in fact pee in water bottles: “Yeah. That happens…I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.’”

Just to recap, Johnson is admitting to the lateness and bottle peeing, but calls The Wrap’s reporting “bullshit.” He’s saying it’s been exaggerated.

According to The Wrap, Johnson developed a reputation in the industry for his frequent lateness and lack of professionalism, according to multiple insiders they spoke to. Past productions rattled by Johnson’s sudden on-set absence included “Baller” and “Rampage” — the latter apparently led to a “huge fight” between Johnson and his co-star Ryan Reynolds.

Johnson has his $250M “Red One” being released on Friday, and next year he’ll be starring in A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” directed by Benny Safdie.

Johnson says he took on ‘the Smashing Machine’ for A24 to “challenge myself in ways that I hadn’t been challenged.” He now wants to continue doing movies like this “where the material is deeper, it allows me to sink my teeth into something deeper, richer.”